Darrell Issa Is the White House's Best Friend

Darrell Issa Is the White House's Best Friend

The White House's Best Friend, Darrell Issa

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) heads to the U.S. Capitol on January 4, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

I sequestered myself in the House Judiciary hearing room yesterday to witness Eric Holder enjoying a Moment—one of his occasional outraged blasts against Republicans (Darrell Isaa this time) for being outrageously partisan. It's part of a strategy that turned two years old this week, of portraying Republicans as goofballs engaged in a war against the administration, throwing whatever silverware or feces is available to them at the moment.

Since then Obama and company have treated every Issa request like an incoherent bleat from a crazy person. At a two-question press conference this week, the president derided Congress for obsessing over Benghazi. “Who executes some sort of cover-up or effort to tamp things down for three days?” he asked. Holder himself, later in 2011, had smacked back at his inquisitor by accusing him of McCarthyism. “At some point,” he’d told Issa, “as they said in the McCarthy hearings—at some point, have you no shame?”

And so on—read it all! And notice the headlines generated by the hearing, which was supposed to produce an accountability moment for Republicans.